Familiar Danger
by Obi-Wan'sPadawan
Summary: -Sequel to 'On My Own'. Obi-Wan and Jaden are sent to investigate the murder of a senator. There, they encounter such danger that threatens their very relationship...
1. Introduction

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Well, after a long and (I must admit) much needed break, I've decided to go ahead with the sequel to On My Own! Hopefully, no other horrible tests will come up that require my attention.

I made a 28 on my ACT, by the way. If that makes up for my lack of updates in any way!

They were coming, Jaden could feel them in the darkness. They were searching for him, and they were getting dangerously close. The Padawan shifted slightly in his hiding place, high up in the rafters of the room, knowing that one slip-up could send him plummeting to the ground, more that fifty feet below.

Moving slowly and silently, Jaden unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. He tensed as it made a small click, then eventually relaxed. Then he heard it; the soft, almost silent, motor of an assassination droid. And it was headed straight towards his position.

Jaden smiled slightly, crouching lower in his spot. Then he suddenly leapt from the rafter, igniting his blue blade as he did. The blade collided with the droid in mid-air, sending it to the floor in smoking ruins. Jaden then twisted in mid-air, catching the handrail of a catwalk in his hand, his foot resting on a lower rung. He stayed like that for only a second before flipping over onto the catwalk, just in time to turn around and slice another droid in two.

He could hear them clearly now, buzzing about as they developed a battle plan against him. From what he could sense, there were three more, one crippled from an earlier attack. he crouched low again, trying to get a better fix on their position before they got a better fix on his. It didn't help the Padawan that the room was pitch black.

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Where's Obi-Wan when you need him? Jaden thought to himself. He could really use his Master's seemingly infinite patience right about now. He turned his head as once of the droids suddenly buzzed past his head, too close for his liking. But he knew that these droids were programmed as predators, and were probably attempting to frighten him out of his spot into a more open area. The droids knew where he was; they had obviously seen him jump and could now register the blue glow of the lightsaber.

One of the droids appeared from behind him out of nowhere, attempting to shoot the young Jedi from behind. Jaden, however, had felt him coming and rolled out of the way, careful to keep his saber from slicing up the catwalk beneath him, along with his own limbs. He straightened up and turned toward the advancing droid. Switching his saber to his left hand, he held his right out, palm outward. The droid suddenly flew backwards into a pillar with a crunch of metal, the fell to the catwalk, sparks erupting from it.

The Padawan didn't have time to savor his small victory, however; another droid appeared behind him before he could even lower his hand, blaster ready to shoot. Without thinking, he leapt into the empty air, trusting the Force to keep him from ending up splattered on the floor. He fell at least thirty feet before his hand caught a hold of a railing. He jerked to a sudden stop, feeling as if his arm had been pulled out of the socket. He let out an involuntary yelp of pain, but knew that he didn't have time to dwell on the pain.

He looked down and was able to make out the floor faintly. It wouldn't be that far of a drop, but a bad landing could still break his ankles. With the buzzing of the droids getting closer, Jaden decided that he'd rather take a broken leg than a blaster hole in the head. He released the railing, landing with a thud on the floor. He reignited his lightsaber and swung a high arc over his head, catching a glancing blow to one of the droids. Something popped within the machine, but it kept flying.

He took a second to analyze his situation, as his Master had taught him. His right arm burned with pain and he didn't know if it was sprained or dislocated, his feet now hurt from his hard landing, but otherwise he was fine. He glanced up into the darkness, into the tangled web of catwalks, railing, and rafters, searching for any hint of a droid. He something move out of the corner of his eye, headed behind him. Waiting for the right moment, he reversed his blade and skewered the droid, the saber positioned haphazardly under his arm.

He straightened up again, know that there was one left, probably the one he had crippled earlier. He stretched out his senses, but couldn't find it. Then suddenly the lights blared on, leaving the young Jedi squinting in the light.

A group of people were watching him from behind a duraglass plate installed in the wall. The eldest of the group nodded.

"Very good, Jaden," she said, her voice sounding from hidden speakers installed in the room. "Full marks."

Jaden bowed his head. "Thank you, Master K'teel," he said solemnly. He sighed with relief, knowing that he had just passed one of the hardest tests the teacher had to offer. He headed towards a door as it opened, letting in another Jedi to clean up the remains of the droids Jaden had destroyed.

Master K'teel, a middle-aged woman with her hair in a severe bun, approached him as he stepped out. "You did very well in there, Jaden. You gave yourself to the Force and allowed it to help you survive."

"I thought I had one more left."

"The one you hit earlier in the test failed. You hit a main motor, shutting down the whole thing eventually."

Jaden smiled. "Good, I thought I had run out of time."

"There are no time limits in my tests, Jaden. As Jedi, we are required to learn patience." She looked down at his right arm, which hung limply at his side now that he was in no 'real' danger. "You should see the medics with that arm. I will discuss your test with you further when you return. We can also watch the holos."

Jaden nodded and turned towards the door, noticing the stares of the other Padawans as he began to walk. Some were simply watching him leave, some were curious, and one looked at him with a look of loathing. As the age of fifteen, he was easily the youngest person in the class, which consisted mostly of seventeen to nineteen year old Padawans. Like his Master before him, Jaden had shown a great aptitude for learning, getting him placed in higher difficulty classes.

He shook his head, not knowing what was going on in the other people's minds. Hate him or love him, it didn't matter. He was here to stay. He stepped out of the room, heading towards the medical bay. Both he and Obi-Wan had been there enough to be able to walk there in their sleep. He nodded at the 'receptionist' and kept walking. All of the medics knew him pretty well, and all knew where he was going.

He turned into the first hall he saw, then walked until he got to the third door. He knocked twice and waited for an answer.

"Come in," someone shouted from within. Jaden pushed open the door, and at first thought no one was there. Then he heard an all too familiar laugh. "Jaden Hosk! If I didn't know better, I'd say you were getting hurt just so you could spy on me," Obi-Wan Kenobi said from the chair he was reclined in.

Jaden smiled. "Not quite."

"What is it this time?"

"I think I may have pulled something during the droid test. It hurts too much to move my arm. It may be sprained or dislocated."

"Oh, listen to the little guy talk," Tasha Yyrrel said as she entered the room, her arms full of medical supplies that she dumped on her sleep-couch. She looked up at Jaden and smiled. "You'd think he was a medic's Padawan or something."

"Or he's just gotten hurt enough to know what it is," Obi-Wan added with a small smile.

"Little?" Jaden asked. He stared at her for a moment, a funny look on his face. "I'm about as tall as you," he said.

"Yeah, but still not as big as your Master. He's not exactly the tallest guy in the galaxy either." She looked at Obi-Wan for a reaction, but he had his eyes fixed on the ceiling. She smiled. "Alright, let's have a look at your arm."

He had pulled a muscle in his arm with his little stunt, and it took Tasha only fifteen minutes to fix it up. "Lucky you came in here when you did," she said as she handed him a sling. "I was about to leave."

"Where're you going?" he asked as he slid his sore arm into the sling.

"I've got a mission. I'm supposed to treat some refugees from the planet of Tagamia. Seems as though a dictator has taken over and is treating people badly."

Jaden frowned. "How long will you be gone?"

"Could be weeks or months," Obi-Wan said before Tasha could, slight bitterness apparent in his voice. Tasha looked at him, and Jaden could see a bit of regret in her eyes as well. With the Council always sending either Jedi every which way in the galaxy, it was so hard for them to be able to spend any time together. Once a few weeks before, Obi-Wan had angrily announced that the Council was doing it on purpose, trying to make them drift apart. 

Jaden looked down at the ground for a moment. During the past two years, Obi-Wan and Tasha had become a sort of surrogate family for him. Obi-Wan was like a father to him, and Tasha was a motherly figure. It was obvious that their bond ran deep, deeper than the Council knew, else they would give up trying to tear them apart.

He looked back up at them and smiled. "Well, I'm supposed to go back to see Master K'teel to review my test." He turned to Tasha. "Good luck with your mission. Save a bunch of people, ok?"

She smiled. "I will Jaden. Or I'll try my best." Jaden nodded to his Master, who said something about seeing him soon. Jaden stepped out into the hall and made his way back to his class, nodding once again at the receptionist. He was turning around a corner when he froze, the front of another person only inches from his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up at the person. He burst out into a wide smile. "Master Qui-Gon!"


	2. The Philosophical Padawan

Qui-Gon looked down at the teenager and smiled. "Well, Jaden Hosk. It has been a while now, hasn't it?"

" 'Bout a year and a half."

Qui-Gon nodded. "So it has. And how have you been? Keeping up with your studies, I hope?"

"Yes sir. I've been moved up to the senior Padawan's class."

"Have you? That's great. Obi-Wan was also moved up to a senior class when he was a Padawan."

"So I've heard."

"Speaking of Obi-Wan, where is he at? I wanted to say hello before Anakin and I were off again."

"He's with Tasha. She's about to leave on a mission."

Qui-Gon nodded. "It seems like the Council is trying to keep us all from getting together again." He smiled to himself. "I wonder what they fear?"

"They don't want Obi-Wan, me, Tasha, you and Anakin to be together on a mission again?"

Qui-Gon shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps it is just coincidence that we are always apart."

Jaden frowned, his Master's beliefs instilled in him as well. "I think they're up to something. I don't know what, but they're up to something."

"And what could the Jedi Council be up to, young Padawan?"

"I don't know. They seem to fear Anakin and me. Like we're always on the brink of the darkside. They also seem to fear the bond between my Master and Tasha."

"What they've done is against the Code, Jaden. A Jedi shall not know love."

"Why? What can it do that is so horrible? And how can you stop it? It's a natural thing. How can you keep from falling in love, other than becoming a nasty old nerf like Master Windu?"

Qui-Gon smiled slightly. "You shouldn't talk about your Masters that way, Jaden. They are wise Jedi, the wisest we have."

Jaden sighed. "I just don't agree with it all."

Qui-Gon put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Jaden. Neither do I and neither does your Master. I'm afraid a little more than my knowledge of the Force seems to have rubbed off on him."

"What do you mean?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi did not always challenge the Council and the Code, young Padawan. He once followed the Code to the letter. But that was long ago. He's grown up since then, seen more of the galaxy. I just hope his believes do not hinder him."

Jaden nodded. "Me too. Some of the other Masters look at him funny. Like they're afraid of him. Or me."

"They're not afraid. They just do not approve of the way Obi-Wan views the path of a Jedi. But you and your Master are not alone. There are many Jedi who will stretch the Code to suit their needs. But they find their balance, and in time, you will too."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah. We all find balance."

Qui-Gon made a face. "Not all."

Jaden looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean, Master Qui-Gon?"

"Well, my own Padawan for example. He has yet to find a balance between his own impetuousness and the Code. He thinks just because he thinks that it is right, that it is."

Jaden cocked his head to the side almost comically. "Isn't that what the Council does?" he asked genuinely.

Qui-Gon opened his mouth to speak, but temporarily was at a loss for words. Finally he just shook his head. "Time will tell you all you need to know, Jaden."


End file.
